Gods and Monsters
by SnowmobilingSeal
Summary: Aiden Riley lived in a world where superheroes were worshipped like Gods. He could never compare; fat, nerdy, pining after a girl he couldn't have. After a fateful encounter with The Flash and Zoom, he is thrust into the world of the impossible. Time travelling villains and crazy psychopaths are now his life. He has to adapt fast, or he might succumb to the Monster instead. OC
1. Aiden Riley

**Hey all SnowmobilingSeal here! This is my first Flash fan fiction but the idea for this story wouldn't leave my head for some time, there are going to be some differences compared to the show, I'll mention them briefly.**

 **A few different things from the show, Thea Queen, Jesse "Quick" Wells, and Wally West are all 18. In this Laurel is already dead, and Barry has come back from the past in 2x17, and Jesse never left. The Supergirl/Flash crossover happened a little earlier and Team Flash knows about her.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Flash, Arrow/Green Arrow, or Supergirl or any of the DC characters, I only own the OCs**

 **Ok let's get started!**

The peaceful, serene, quiet morning of Central City was interrupted by the shrilling noise of an alarm clock, followed by a string of curses from the 18-year-old boy lying in bed next it. Aiden Riley smacked his alarm clock, put it on snooze, and tried to return back to his peaceful sleep.

At least, he tried to until the door opened revealing his mother, and in typical Tracey Riley fashion, pulled the sheets from over his body exposing him to the morning climate. He groaned and told his mother to leave him alone.

She held her ground and said, "Come on, it's your last exam today and then your _finished_ high school, so you can't be late for it."

Then, like a dam breaking, memories came flooding back in full force. Studying the previous night for his history exam. Memorizing names, dates, events, key players in those events, and the important factors in those key players' life. Then the realization hit him- _holy shit_ , he finished high school today!

"Alright, I'll get ready and meet you at the car," he told his mom, "just give me a few minutes to make myself presentable."

As soon as his mom left his room, he got up and looked in the mirror, he was pretty sure a horror movie monster looked back at him.

His shaggy and messy looking black hair looked like he had walked through a tornado before he went to sleep, and his baby blue eyes looked bloodshot and tired, _very tired._ Although he would never admit it to anybody but himself, he really was overweight and kinda short too (5'3, to be exact). But then, that look came with the whole 'I want to do well in school and screw sports' student that he was.

Aiden spent about 15 minutes cleaning himself up and trying to pick out a good outfit for the final exam-because come _on,_ he's finishing high school today!- and he ended up with a pair of denim jeans, a blue striped shirt, and some regular white socks.

He ran to his desk and grabbed his materials for the day, pencils, pens, and of course- a student's best friend- an eraser and some whiteout.

Aiden came downstairs and grabbed a quick breakfast bar before rushing out to his mom who was in the car on their driveway. He got in, settled himself and started to eat the breakfast bar.

The drive was, for the most part, pretty uneventful, with his mom quizzing him about history and him getting all the questions right. He was right now preoccupied with eating his breakfast bar and freaking out about finishing high school when his mom said something that stopped him in his tracks.

"So, I was thinking," she paused and then continued, "maybe you could head over to the cemetery after the exam and let your dad know that you just finished high school."

Aiden froze, his breakfast bar forgotten. This topic had always been a bit of a sensitive one, he had always been close to his Dad but then when he had gotten shipped out to Afghanistan numerous times, it was always hard for Aiden to readjust to life without his dad. The day he had found out was horrible, and he would never forget it for as long as he lived.

 _7 years ago…._

11-year-old Aiden Riley was in his room doing homework, while his Mom was cooking a feast downstairs. The reason? His dad, Jack Riley, was coming home after his longest tour yet in Afghanistan. Aiden was excited, he had gotten 100% on his science test today, and was very eager to tell his father about it.

He finished his homework and then turned on the tv and decided to watch some of his favourite cartoon shows. He watched them for about 1 hour and few minutes before his mother eagerly called him down to eat some dinner.

Aiden walked into the kitchen and was greeted by an amazing smell. It wasn't of food, or drinks, or his mom's perfume, it was of _home._ He never remembered smelling this before and he was excited, his dad was coming home, he would get to tell him about his test. Aiden and his dad could go out and play some basketball, or maybe some soccer, or whatever his dad liked.

The doorbell rang, and his mom practically sprinted to the front door. There was a moment of silence, and then the world ended.

Tracey Riley ended up breaking down in tears and falling her to her knees. Aiden, confused, walked to the door. In the doorway stood a dark-skinned man in an army uniform. He briefly looked at Aiden and his eyes widened.

"You look just like him…" he had said. This was not uncommon, people often said he looked very much like his parents.

Aiden had watched enough movies throughout his life and he knew that his dad was never coming home, never going to see him graduate, never going to see him get married, get his first job, or even get to see his own grandkids. Aiden's whole world shattered, but somehow he managed to get the words out of his mouth.

"How did it happen?"

"Our unit was escorting some local civilians to a safe zone, we came under fire and the only safe place for them was a building in a village close by," he paused, gathered his thoughts and continued, "the catch was that someone was going to have to stay behind and distract them, and it was very likely that whoever it was, was not going home. Your dad," he stopped again, his words catching in his throat, "he was so stubborn, he pushed everyone away and told them to get to the building, Jack pulled me aside and told me that if he didn't make it, he wanted me to be the one to tell you."

Suddenly, Aiden's hollow heart was lifted a bit, his dad had died a hero, saving people like he always had.

"Aiden," the man started, "he told me to give you this."

The army man handed Aiden a pocket watch and inside of it, was a picture of him and his dad when he had won his very first science fair. Aiden gave in to the tears, and they started rolling down his cheeks, leaving marks as they made their way down.

"I'm truly sorry for your loss," he said.

"Thank you for telling me," Aiden said, his voice sounded unnaturally calm, "but sir, I don't know your name, would you please tell me?"

The man chuckled softly and looked at him, "John," he said with a smile, "John Diggle."

 ** _End of Flashback_**

He snapped back to reality and noticed his mom was staring at him, wondering what was going through his head.

"Yeah," he said, "I'll go today and let him know."

They spent the rest of the car ride in silence.

His mom dropped him off at the front of the school and drove off, wishing him good luck, and to make her proud.

Waiting for him at the front of the school was his best friend Liam Smith, his brown hair in its usual spiky style, and his green eyes glued to his screen. Ever since the two had first met they had been the best of friends, close enough to be considered brothers. And, Liam had a way of helping Aiden when he was at his lowest….

 _6 years ago_

12-year-old Aiden Riley was in the playground, but he really wasn't _in_ the playground. His mind was always thinking about his dad. Running scenario's through his head over and over again. Aiden kept telling himself that his dad wasn't dead, but he knew the truth, his dad wasn't coming home.

So consumed by his thoughts he didn't notice young Liam Smith walking up to him and sitting next to him.

"I hear about what happened to your dad," he had said, "and I didn't know him, and I don't know you, but I know he wouldn't want you wasting your time moping, so come on! Let's go play some soccer!"

Aiden knew, deep in his heart that Liam was right, his dad wouldn't want him to sulk, he would want him to remember him at his best and live his life to the fullest.

Aiden looked at Liam, and when their eyes met, Aiden smiled and said, "Let's go play, I want to make sure you know who the better soccer player is in this friendship."

And they were friends ever since.

 ** _End of Flashback_**

"Yo!" Aiden said in greeting to his best friend.

Liam looked up from his phone and flicked his head towards Aiden to say 'Hi' back. They started walking together towards the classroom towards their final exam. Aiden looked over Liam's shoulder to get a better look at what he was looking at on his screen, but Liam looked up at him and mentioned about a party tonight at some girl's house, Aiden declined, he never was much of a partier.

(His decline to the invite wouldn't matter much anyway when _it_ happened)

"Dude come on! You know," he said with a teasing grin on his face, "Christina is going to be there."

Heat immediately rushed to Aiden's face at the mention of his crush and other best friend, Christina Pearce. Her curly blonde hair, her beautiful blue eyes, and most importantly, in Aiden's opinion, her absolutely amazing intelligence. They had been friends for some time, but Aiden never had the courage to tell her how he felt about her. Aiden felt himself inadequate, with his thick black hair, tired eyes, and less than ideal physique.

"Can we just focus on the fact that we are finishing high school today!" Aiden tried to redirect the conversation into something a little more comfortable.

Luckily for him, Liam didn't seem to notice, and that was probably for the best, since Christina pulled up next to them. Aiden's heart seem to beat a little bit faster whenever she was near him. The trio said their greetings and got ready to face the final test of high school together.

Aiden, Liam, and Christina walked into the auditorium where they would be doing their final exam and picked the seats closest to each other, not to cheat of course, but having each other around provided some comfort for each other.

2 hours, 45 minutes, and 36 seconds later…..

It had taken a shit load of time for the trio to finish because of the stupid amount of essay questions on the exam itself. But once it was finished, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that high school was over and it was time to start a new chapter in their lives. _Especially Aiden._

Liam had to leave early because he needed to get ready for the party that was going on later that night. Christina was going too, and was determined to badger Aiden into going as well.

"Come on!" she complained, "You should go, you might meet a girl, and she might see the way I do, as an amazing guy with a good heart."

 _Apparently not good enough to consider thinking about me like_ ** _that_** Aiden thought to himself.

Aiden had enough and silently committed, that by the end of the day, he would tell Christina he was in love with her. But first he had to talk to his dad.

"Hey Christina, I have to head to the cemetery today to see my dad," Christina immediately understood why and nodded, "but I need to tell you something important, so can we meet up at Jitters at 3?"

"Sure."

"Great, see you then!" Aiden then ran off to catch the train and go to the final resting place of his father.

Aiden knew cemeteries were creepy at times, but sometimes they were _extra_ creepy, the one where is father was buried, was high up so fog often rolled in. The fog was especially thick today and that made the atmosphere even creepier.

He knew his way around, had been here enough times to know where he was going and suddenly found himself in front of his father's grave.

 _Jack Riley_

 _Father_

 _Son_

 _Brother_

 _Husband_

 _Hero_

"Hey Dad," Aiden spoke to the grave, hoping that wherever his dad was, he could hear him, "I finished high school today. It's a really great feeling, knowing that I'm starting a new chapter of my life. Oh, and funnily enough, I've decided to tell her Christina how I feel." He paused and then continued. "I hope it goes well, and I hope even more that wherever you are, you're proud of me, because I am so proud of you too." Aiden then started to sob a little, his father wasn't here to help him pick out colleges or universities, wasn't here to give his approval of his decision to tell Christina, wasn't here to teach him how to drive, he just wasn't _here._

"Heh, I've always been a bit of a cry baby, I need to work on that, but I just wanted you to know what happened today, goodbye Dad, I'll be back here in a few weeks to let you know what university or college I've decided on."

As Aiden walked out of the cemetery he felt a rush of cool wind, hopefully that meant that his dad approved.

Jitters had always been busy, but for some reason today it seemed extra busy, but he could easily spot the blonde hair that belonged to Christina. He picked up his coffee and went over to the table. They talked for awhile about everything and nothing, and then Christina wanted Aiden to walk her home, since they lived so close to each other.

 _I'll tell her on the way there_ Aiden decided.

The walk back to her house was pleasant and it was quiet, perfect atmosphere to tell her exactly how he felt around her, how she made him feel.

 _Here we go_

"Christina," She turned her head to look at him, "there's been something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time but never got the chance."

"Yeah?"

"Christina, I-" He never finished the statement though because at that precise moment, he heard a loud _boom_ followed by a lot of windows being shattered.

"The only thing that could cause that type of damage-" Christina started.

"Is a sonic boom…" Aiden finished.

He looked down the street and squinted, and in the distance he could vaguely see 2 streaks heading down the road.

A blue and red streak. The Flash and that other guy, what did he call himself? Oh right _Zoom_

And they were heading right towards Aiden and Christina

Oh _shit_

 **Good? Bad? Terrible? Amazing? Awesome? Let me know in the reviews!**

 **This SnowmobilingSeal signing off!**


	2. Lightning Strikes

Aiden was never particularly a lucky guy, he knew that. He always seemed to lose at card games, no luck was ever thrown his way.

But finally, after years of pining after Christina he was about to tell her just how she made him feel, and a _supervillian_ had to get in the way.

Come _on._

When he saw the 2 streaks running straight towards him and Christina, Aiden's thought was to protect Christina. But he was too much in shock, The Flash and Zoom were running straight towards them.

He had heard the stories of course, about the city's very own Scarlet Speedster, but he had never personally seen him before. Aiden had read the stories by that reporter who seemed to have a connection to him, _Iris West_.

The two speedsters seemed like they were about to hit them so Aiden tried his best to keep Christina safe. He wrapped his arms around her and tackled her to the ground as the two speedsters passed them, power energy, _lightning,_ moving all around them. He looked over to Christina to make sure she was alright.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, unsure if he had hurt her unintentionally.

"I'm fine, just a little surprised." she responded.

"Yeah, you and me both."

Then to add fuel to the fire, Aiden looked up and saw clouds forming around Central City, some form of freak storm, and Aiden knew it was because of the speedsters. Inside the clouds he could see some brief flashes of light.

"Figures it would be lightning…" Aiden muttered to himself.

Christina turned to him and said, "So Aiden, what were you going to tell me it sounded like it was important?"

"Well-"

He never got to finish his thought because there was a blinding flash-pun totally not intended-and there was a lightning strike about 10 feet away from Aiden and Christina, the force of the strike sent them flying them backwards a few feet. Aiden fell on his back, knocking the air out of his lungs. He propped himself up on his right elbow and looked around.

There were many families and young children as they were near a park. Aiden looked at Christina, who was coming to. Something from the corner of his eye caught his attention, and then he saw it, a building.

He scrambled over to Christina to check if she was okay, luckily she was. Aiden knew what he and Christina had to do, they had to try and get these people to safety.

Aiden looked into Christina's beautiful eyes and said, "I have a really bad idea."

He explained his plan to her and she totally agreed to it, she always had a good heart and a willingness to help people.

Aiden ran over to a group of kids and started to usher kids over to the building, and he noticed that he was struggling to breathe properly. It was then that he noticed that the cloudy atmosphere had now suddenly turned into a full on gale storm. The winds were blowing people everywhere, but Aiden was determined to get these kids to safety. He kept pushing them forward and encouraging them, telling them not to give up, to persevere. Conveniently, these were also words he himself needed to hear, it was taking all of his strength not to pass out.

The grass under his feet was moving all over the place, moving with the directions of the winds. Aiden had moved to a young woman cradling her baby and started to help her towards the building, trying his very best to steady her and himself. Once he got her to the safety of the lobby of the building her turned to see if he could find Christina, and he found her sitting on a bench looking very run down and still despite the storm, Aiden thought she was beautiful. Her blonde hair looking messy but still somehow like she had spent hours trying to make sure it looked amazing. Her blue eyes searching around for Aiden, and her eyes met his, his breath hitched and she ran over to him a engulfed him in her arms.

Her hair smelled of lilacs and there was also some form of peppermint. Aiden gladly returned the hug, she thought it was just a friendly hug, but this was doing wonders for Aiden. He felt heat and warmth radiating from her, and his feelings for her only amplified.

"Are you okay?" he whispered into her hair, not wanting to break the contact between them for even a second of time.

"I'm fine," she said, "are you okay?"

"Just a little shaken but I'm just glad that we got everyone out of there."

The universe seemed to taunt him at this exact moment, because apparently him running around like a madman trying to save people while endangering himself and Christina wasn't enough. Out of the corner of his eye he saw an older Asian woman running around frantically, looking for someone.

The woman screamed out, "Has anyone seen my son Will?"

Aiden eyes widened and he looked towards Christina, and apparently she had the same thought too and ran towards the window to look around. They couldn't have missed someone, could they have? Aiden's eyes worked tirelessly, trying to locate the young boy.

Christina and Aiden both found him at the same time, hiding under a _tree._ Trying to shield himself from the world around him. In that moment, Aiden saw a lot of himself in the kid when his father died.

He then decided to do something incredibly stupid, he looked at Christina and she knew, she _knew,_ what he was going to do.

 _Damn hero complex_ he thought to himself as he ran out back into the storm, trying to save a little boys life.

* * *

 ** _7 Hours Earlier_**

Barry Allen was never really a troubled sleeper, especially since gaining his speed. But sometimes he would find himself in odd places, his speedster body never really allowed for a peaceful slumber.

He had to get ready fast because today was the day that the he was testing out the tachyon enhancer after his close call with the Time Wraiths. According to Evil Wells last year, the tachyon device could make a speedster go faster than he ever thought possible. Barry's whole thing was going faster, and maybe this could help him stop Zoom.

Barry went through his daily routine of making himself presentable. After that, he ran out of his childhood house and made a beeline straight for Star Labs. Even though he was excited to test out the tachyon enhancer, his mind was running in every direction at once ever since they discovered that Jay Garrick was Zoom.

Why hadn't Barry seen this coming?

He was supposed to be able to spot danger, to protect anyone he could from danger. Not this time, just like with Thawne, someone who he trusted betrayed him, and this time it was all his fault. He had his suspicions of Garrick the moment he had stepped foot in Star Labs. Barry was cautious because of what happened with Thawne, and what it had cost them. Not only had it caused a huge amount of damage to the city, it had also cost the lives of Eddie and Ronnie, a fact he could never _ever_ forgive himself for.

This time, it had caused Caitlin a lot of emotional damage. She had been one of the first people to trust Garrick because she had given him a lie detector test. Barry should have known, Garrick's answers must have fooled her. Not only that, but after the whole team had trusted Garrick, she had struck up a romantic relationship with him. Caitlin let herself try and love again after what happened with Ronnie, only to find out that he was a serial killer with quite literally a "need for speed."

Barry had made a promise to himself after the singularity, to keep his friends and family safe, no matter the cost, and he had failed.

 _Miserably_

Now wasn't the time to think about that though, maybe with the tachyon enhancer he could take down Zoom, and make up for the mistakes he made.

He flashed into the Cortex where Caitlin, Cisco, and Iris were waiting for him.

"Hey guys, so when do we start?" Barry said to them all.

"Cisco is just making some last minute enhancements to the tachyon enhancer," Caitlin said, "but I want to walk you through the training regiment we have for you today."

"Sure."

Barry edged himself closer to Caitlin to look over her shoulder. She began to explain the training he would go through, he was really only half-listening. He found himself staying closer to her and staring at her ever since the revelation of Zoom's identity. He told himself that it was because with this piece of information he was afraid that maybe she would turn into her Earth-2 counterpart Killer Frost. But his heart knew better.

When Caitlin and Jay had started their relationship, Barry had felt something. He didn't want to admit it was jealousy but thats exactly what it was. Seeing Caitlin with another speedster that wasn't him made him angry, and when they discovered Jay was Zoom, he suddenly understood Oliver's old mindset.

Oliver had killed people in the past, granted they weren't really good people, but he had still killed. Barry had somewhat judged him for that, but now he understood. Jay had caused so much terror and killed so many people. Barry thought if he did end up killing Jay, it would be justified.

He had to catch himself though. This was one of his greatest secrets he hadn't told anyone, not even Iris. As a speedster, there is this primal urge, to go faster, to have more speed, and in his darkest moments, Barry sometimes thought that the team should capture Zoom, give him his speed, and then kill the demon speedster. The urge to be the fastest, to run without consequences, to free himself of his moral constraints. No, he couldn't, he was Barry Allen, the hero, not Zoom, he would capture him and put him away with the rest of the psycho metahumans.

Caitlin's voice pulled him out of his thoughts, "So that's the course, I think Cisco and Harry are ready, you good to go?"

He nodded and smiled to her to hide his deep thoughts. Barry knew that this was somewhat pointless, she knew his non-verbal cues, but, much to his relief, she let it go this time.

Barry dressed into his suit. Cisco approached him and placed the enhancer on his suit. Immediately he felt faster, stronger, and was ready to get going, but not before the Doctor Snow warning.

"Ok Barry, we'll be monitoring your vitals and energy output from here, but be careful."

"Yeah, last time you pushed yourself, you ended up on an Earth with a blonde alien hottie." Iris added.

"But would that be so bad?" Cisco asked from his seat.

Barry chucked, "Ok, don't worry I'll be fine."

He then set off for his running route. Barry could feel it, the power of running, the lightning all around him, pushing him forward. He felt himself move faster and faster. Through his comms he could hear Cisco's whoop of encouragement, he could _feel_ Harry's smug smile, he could hear Caitlin's words of caution, instead he pushed himself a little further and he could hear her giggle quietly when he disobeyed her.

Suddenly, he could hear beeping on the other end of his comms, and an intake of breath courtesy of Caitlin.

"Dude, there's a breach opening downtown," Cisco explained, "you need to get down there fast!"

"But didn't we close all the breaches?" Barry asked.

"Apparently not, just get there Allen, we don't need any other inter-dimensional problems." Harry ordered.

Barry started weaving down streets, past cars, until he saw the break he stopped in front of it and waited. Minutes passed, and then there was an anomaly, he saw lighting, _blue_ lightning.

"It's him." Barry said into his comms.

Zoom came out of the breach and looked at Barry.

"Miss me Flash?"

"This ends now Zoom," Barry clenched his fists. ready for his fight with this monster.

And then the race was on.

The Flash and Zoom, side by side, racing throughout Central City, fighting like two caged in dogs. There was no holding back, Zoom noticed that the Flash was running faster than normal, he was actually faster than him. The Flash was winning, he was finally ready to stop Zoom, once and for all. That was until he saw clouds starting to gather above his head.

"Harry, what the hell is that?"

"It seems as if your race and overall Speed Force energy is creating some kind of feedback storm."

Barry quickly looked around and saw that 2 kids were helping people inside of a nearby building to keep them safe, that enough released some tension, until he saw the boy run outside to save a younger boy huddling close to a tree.

* * *

Aiden ran, faster than he ever had, he knew that his time was limited, he had to grab the boy Will and make it inside and fast. The run to the tree was problematic, especially with the gale force winds knocking him all over the place. He pushed through, knowing that this kid needed to return to his mom, he knew how much it hurt when a kid lost a parent, and he knew that it would either be the same or much worse if a parent lost a child.

Aiden made it to the tree and looked at the young boy Will, "Ok come on buddy, I'm gonna get you back to your mom."

Will looked at him and raised his pinky finger, "Promise?"

Aiden smiled and linked his pinky finger with Will's, "Promise."

He then brought Will into his side and started to run back towards the building. They arrived there and Aiden pushed the kid into the building and was about to walk into the building was well, when The Flash and Zoom ran past him, the force of their speed knocking away from the doors and the doors closing. He got up and put his hand onto the street lamp to stabilize himself.

Big mistake.

A lightning bolt came down from the heavens and struck the street lamp, surged through the lamp and into Aiden. All he knew was burning, searing pain, the last thing he heard was Christina screaming his name, and then the darkness took him.

* * *

Barry looked over and saw the boy get struck by lightning, flashbacks to the night when he was struck by lightning bombarded his memory, and all of this while fighting Zoom.

"If it were me _Flash,_ I'd leave that kid to die, but you can't do that, ever the hero."

Barry knew that this was possibly one of his last chances to take down Zoom, but he couldn't leave the kid there. The boy could be seriously injured, or worse. He glared at Zoom and ran over to the boy. His breath caught in his throat, the boy couldn't have been more than 17, 18 years old.

"Cait, there was a kid who was struck by lightning, and the lightning was created from the storm, I'm bringing him back to Star Labs, get a gurney prepped."

"You got it."

Barry looks over and saw a girl staring at him with wide eyes, he deduced that she must know him. He gave her a reassuring nod, picked the boy up and ran him back to Star Labs. The next few hours were a blur, and from Barry's POV, that was really saying something. They found out that they boy was in a coma, much like when Barry had been struck by lightning.

"Does he have a trace of the speed force in him?" Barry wondered.

"It's too early to tell, maybe further along in his coma more conclusive results will show." Harry

respond.

Jesse was also present in the Cortex and despite the terrible circumstances, she said, "He's kinda cute."

Everyone shot her a look and she decided to keep quiet.

Cisco walked into the Cortex with his tablet in his hand, "Kid's name is Aiden Riley, 18 years old, only family member living in Central City is his mom, Tracey."

"I'll go tell family and friends." Joe piped up.

"I'm going with you," Barry said, "this is partly my fault, I should be the one to tell his mother and friends."

 ** _2 Hours Later_**

Barry flashed into Star Labs and sat down, clearly depleted, not only physically, but emotionally. Seeing the kid's mom's face when they informed her of his condition shattered him on the inside. He thought it couldn't get any worse, he was dead wrong. His mother informed him that the kid, _Aiden,_ he reminded himself, had 2 best friends who were sick about him. Aiden's friend Liam had gone silent after they told him, utter shock and despair written all over his face. The girl, Christina, would not stop crying, she thought it was her fault. It shattered Barry on the inside.

"We have a problem," Cisco piped up from behind his workstation.

"What is it?" Barry asked, trying to mask the pain he was feeling.

"Now that we have a kid in our care, we need to put him somewhere safe, Zoom is still a threat," Cisco said.

"We can't just abandon him!" Barry growled, he wasn't taking any of this. Aiden needed their help, now more than ever.

"We're not suggesting we abandon him Allen, but if he remains out in the Cortex like this—its a security risk, and right now, we really don't have anywhere to put him." Harry said, trying to calm him down.

Jesse's head perked up, "Yes, we do."

"We do?" Barry asked, not following her line of thinking.

"The time vault," she explained, "we can hook up the medical machines into the A.I and have it take care of him while we deal with Zoom."

"There's a slight problem though," Barry countered, "we can't have Gideon using any form of futuristic medical treatments on him, not only could it have side effects, it could alter the time stream."

"Well, Gideon will listen to you right?" Caitlin asked, "So just tell it not to use any of those medical treatments on him, and tell Gideon to use treatments found in 2016, not 2177."

Barry looked over at Aiden, on the hospital bed, machines working to keep him alive. For a split second he wanted to ask Gideon to help to the best of its abilities. None of this should have happened, and Barry just wanted Aiden to be home with his mother and friends. But he couldn't, they had to take it slow, let the kid recover at his own pace and pray that he would wake up.

"Alright, I'll go to talk to Gideon and get everything setup."

As he was walking out, Caitlin stopped him with a gentle hand on his arm.

"You okay?" she asked, clearly very worried about his emotional state.

"Not really," he answered, "this kid didn't deserve this, and it's my fault he's like this."

"Blaming yourself isn't going to help him, the best we can do is have Gideon help him, and hope for the best."

"Thanks Cait, I really needed that."

"Anytime."

They traded smiles easily, just like they always have and Barry continued his walk towards the time vault.

He reached the point in the hallway and pushed his hand out towards the wall. The scanner recognized his hand and opened the futuristic door. He walked inside the time vault and looked around. The braille covered walls still looked the same as the day he, Cisco, and Caitlin found it. It was just as creepy as well, the secret room no one had known about until it was too late.

"Good afternoon, Barry Allen," a robotic voice said.

Barry turned around and look at the futuristic hologram that was Gideon.

"Hello Gideon, I need a favour."

"Of course Barry Allen, what can I do for you?"

"We have just uh, received a coma patient and we have our hands full, and I would like you to care for the patient."

"Affirmative."

"On one condition, do not use any advanced medical treatments to bring him out of his coma, use treatments from 2016 _only_ , understand?

"Of course, what is the patient's name?"

"Aiden Riley."

"Pardon sir? What is the patient's name?"

At this point Barry was a little creeped out, he repeated, "The patient's name is Aiden Riley."

"I have no records of an Aiden Riley ever existing sir, are you sure that is the name?"

"Positive," Barry paused, then had an idea, "Gideon search the timeline data for records of Aiden Riley."

"No records available."

"What about Tracey Riley?"

"No records available."

"His deceased father, Jack Riley?"

"No records available."

After a moment of silence, Barry said, "Oh, I've got a bad feeling about this."

* * *

 _Stiff_

That was a good word to describe how Aiden was feeling right now. He felt stiff, and was on a hard surface. He slowly opened his eyes and had to blink a few times so his eyes could get used to the light. He slowly rises up and had to move his neck around a few times. It was then that he actually noticed where he was.

 _His room._

Aiden swung his feet over the bed. The last he remembered was—

Christina, children screaming, Flash, Zoom, lightning bolt.

He then heard the clinking of cutlery from the main floor. Aiden guessed that someone found him, they realized his injuries weren't that bad, and released from the hospital to go home, and that his memory was a little foggy.

Aiden got up from the bed and began to walk down the stairs, and he moved towards to sound. Nothing could have ever prepared him for what he saw—

His _Dad_ , eating steak at his kitchen table.

"Hey pal, that was quite the nap you took."

"Dad, h-how are you here right now? Wait a minute, if you're here, then that means that I'm dead right? This is what the afterlife looks like?"

His Dad chuckled and motioned for him to sit down next to him, "I imagine you have a lot of questions, but I urge to just listen to what I have to say, and then your questions will be answered."

Aiden nodded and leaned in to make sure he didn't miss a word.

"To start off, no you aren't dead," Aiden let a sigh of relief, "and technically I am not your father. Right now we are in your subconscious mind, and I am just a manifestation of your memories of your father and something called the Speed Force."

"What exactly is the 'Speed Force'?" Aiden asked.

"That's a complicated question, but for right now I need you to answer a question for me, what's the last thing you remember?"

"Uh well, I remember taking Christina to Jitters, um and then we were walking back to her place, then the Flash and Zoom went full on bumper cars one each other. Then resulting feedback from their fight caused some sort of storm. Children were screaming and Christina and I began to get them to safety."

"Very brave, by the way, I'm proud of you." His dad said.

"Then we noticed that one kid was missing, I went out to grab him and I brought him back to safety, and then the wind blew me back and I grabbed onto a lamp post. Then…nothing, just darkness and then I woke up here."

"Son, this is going to be a hard pill for you to swallow, but you've been in a coma for 2 months."

Aiden's vision began to blur, darkness circled his vision as this information processed in his mind. 2 whole months, 60 days, 1460 hours, 87600 minutes gone from the real world. What's happened to his mom? What about Christina and Liam?

"Aiden, once you wake up, your world is going to get a lot stranger."

"We live in Central City Dad, it can't get much stranger than that."

"Well, that's where your wrong, but listen to me, your going to be confused once you wake up, but whatever questions you have you need to let the people taking care of you answer them slowly."

"Dad, your talking as if I'm about to wake up."

As Aiden said that, some form of lightning storm appeared in his living room, the storm shot off cracks of lightning in every direction. Then the storm opened itself up to reveal a portal.

"Well son, there it is, your ticket out of here, walk through that portal and you wake up."

"Really?" Aiden asked, bewildered that it seemed this easy.

"Yup, that easy, but Aiden, listen to me. Your going to face dark times ahead, and you need to be strong, and remember, I'm always with you. Now go get 'em kiddo."

Aiden nodded and walked towards the portal.

He recited, "In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again."

He walked through the portal, his world burst at the seems with light—

Aiden Riley was awake.

* * *

A/N: Well there you have it! Chapter 2 is done! For those of you who figured it out, yes Aiden will be a speedster, but I don't want to turn away from the story just yet. I have big plans for him and Team Flash. When we cover some of the more comic book stuff, I'm going to be shifting some of it. Also for those of you wondering this 2x17 au. Also disclaimer: Obviously I don't own anything. Also a little personal note, please leave me reviews, it helps me gauge your interest in my story and it motivates me to write a little more! So please R&R!

This is SnowmobilingSeal, signing off!


	3. As Time Goes On

You'd think that waking up from a 2-month coma would be disorienting, but after seeing his dead father, Aiden was pretty sure he was ready for anything.

Boy was he wrong.

He felt a strange sense of déjà vu as he blinked a few times to get his bearings. Aiden looked around the room and a shiver ran up his spine. The room looked like it was covered in Braille. It was all white, and for all Aiden knew he was being quarantined for some disease he got from the lightning bolt. After all, his dad mentioned something about the, 'Speed Force,' it could be some kind of disease.

That thought was chased from his mind. This room didn't look like a quarantine area, and if it was, there would be strange people poking him with sticks.

Then things got even stranger.

"Good afternoon Aiden Riley, how are you feeling?" a female robotic voice said.

Aiden's head snapped around and looked at what was standing before him. A hologram of a woman, but it seemed to be some sort of AI, Aiden was good with computers but not at this level. Not only did this room look weird, this AI scared Aiden even further.

It seemed way ahead of its time, almost as if it was from the _future._

But that was crazy right? AI from the future, what was this, a cheesy early 2000's sci-fi movie?

Aiden cleared his throat before answering, "Um hello, I'm feeling fine thank you, who exactly are you?"

"I am the Genetic Investigation Database and Energy Optimization Network or more accurately, GIDEON."

"So you're an AI?"

"Correct."

"Who made you?"

"I am not authorized to answer that question."

"Where am I?"

"I am not authorized to answer that question."

Aiden ran a hand through his hair out of frustration, and found it to be neatly cut. _Baby steps._

"Who is taking care of me?"

"I am."

"Where are the humans overseeing me?"

"They left you in my care for the 2 months you've been dormant."

"May I see them?"

"Of course, although you may want to change into more regular clothing."

Aiden looked down, he was wearing a hospital gown, and some of the electrodes were still attached to him, he ripped them off.

"Where are my old clothes?"

"Destroyed when you were struck by lightning, but they would not fit you in any case."

"What are you talking about?" Aiden looked down at himself again, and _holy shit, what in the world happened to him?_

He seemed to be taller, if he had to guess around 5'11, and when did he lose so much weight?

"Gideon, what happened to me?"

"The lightning bolt accelerated your growth period, launching you into your adult body years earlier than normal."

"So what you're saying is that I grew 3 years in 2 months?"

"Essentially."

Then a mirror appeared next to his bed and Aiden had to take a second to look at himself.

His face did seem to age a lot. His baby blue eyes were a lot more piercing than they were before he was in the coma. The bags and the bloodshot in his eyes were also no longer apparent. Facial hair was coming out from multiple locations across his jawline and his upper lip. Speaking of his jawline, when did it seem so firm? He bared his teeth to see if they were also kept clean, surprisingly they were sparkling white.

"Gideon, did you handle every form of caretaking for me?"

"Only the essential ones, I did not handle the facial hair portion because in this time period, it is seen as a coming of age for young men across the world."

"Gideon-" he paused, choosing his next words carefully, "are you from the future?"

"I am not authorized to answer that question."

 _Well that cleared things up_ Aiden thought.

"Can I see them now? The other people in this building?"

"Of course Aiden Riley, I have also gone ahead and prepared some cloths for you."

A hissing sound rang throughout the room, and a table appeared from one of the walls. On it was a sweat shirt and some sweat pants. It wasn't the strangeness of the situation that was scaring Aiden, it was the name on the sweat shirt.

 _Star Labs, THE Star Labs?_

"Gideon, where exactly am I in Star Labs?"

"We are located in the time vault, about 8 feet away from the main cortex, where the people who rescued you are located."

Aiden was pretty sure that it wouldn't be awkward changing in front of an AI, but said AI was projecting itself as a female, and he was still a teenage boy. Changing in front of female, whether real or not, was still pretty uncomfortable.

"Gideon I'm ready to go." His voice sounded a lot more confident then he felt.

Who were the people taking care of him? If they were apart of Star Labs, did they any connection to meta-humans running around the city? Were they a bunch of mad scientists responsible for the particle accelerator explosion?

He was about to find out.

"Do you know any old Chinese curses Gideon?"

"I do, to which are you referring to Mr. Riley?"

"May you live in interesting times."

As Aiden was walking out of the time vault, he heard Gideon, "There is a second part of the curse, it states, 'May you find what you're looking for.'"

The hallway was eerily quiet; save for the distant voices he could hear. The walls were an eerie gray, and the floors clean. A little too clean for a semi closed down research lab. As he walked down the hallway, the voices got louds and he realized that 2 of them were in an intense screaming match.

"-If you keep running out there, you could get yourself hurt!"

"-Cait how many times do I have to tell you? I'm fine out there!

"-But what if the day comes when you're not fast enough! This gets rid of that possibility!"

"-You know what that does to the speedsters who consume it!"

The two voices seemed to be in an intense screaming match with each other. The male seemed to be offended by whatever the female was saying. There was an intense silence and that was the moment Aiden made his presence known.

"Um excuse me- "

He would've said more but he saw a tall, lean guy with brown hair and green eyes in a _Flash_ costume looking at him. It took him a second but then he realized that this was _the_ Flash. The _Scarlet Speedster._ _The Man Who saved Central City._

Around the room he saw an older guy in a suit with a police badge, he was African-American with a wispy beard, his eyes bored into him. If this guy was a cop, he was probably trying to read his body language.

The next person he saw was a Hispanic guy shorter than him. He wore a shirt with an NES controller on it in a wheelchair, so this guy couldn't have been all that bad.

To the guy's right was a woman in a peace blouse and pencil skirt. Her auburn hair created bangs on her forehead, and from what he could tell she was the one arguing with The Flash.

To the cop's right was a kid, he assumed, by the way he was standing near her, they were related.

Aiden cleared his throat, and continued, "Can someone bring me up to speed? Pun totally not intended."

The guy in the NES shirt laughed lightly, "Sure kid, we got a lot to talk about."

It took 45 minutes.

* * *

It was a little too much to process.

Star Labs was working with the Flash to deal with various threats across the city. The guy in the Flash suit introduced himself as Barry Allen, along with his whole team.

"So the particle accelerator explosion was caused by a madman from the future, and it created meta-humans across the city. You became the Flash to stop them, and due to a battle with that very same madman, who also killed your mother, it created the singularity above Central City. That singularity also created breaches to a completely alternate universe where Zoom is from." He then pointed to Jesse and Harrison Wells from another Earth, who had appeared later on in the conversation, "And you're from there too. Is that everything?"

The woman who introduced herself as Iris offered him a small smile, "I get it's a little much to digest right now, but you get used to it."

"Yeah it's a little much to swallow right now," he decided to try and shift things to something a little more grounded in reality. "You guys seemed like you were in the middle of something, what was it?"

"Our resident compute genius was a having a little trouble doing his thing." Iris explained.

Now his interest was piqued. The whole Flash thing was too much for him to process, but they did save his life, and if he could help out _The Flash,_ it would be a win in his book. Plus, these seemed like good people, and they were working to protect his city, and he would help them in any way possible.

"What was it?" Aiden asked.

"We're trying to hack into Mercury Lab's systems to get access to some research about the meta-human gene, just to see what they know. But trying to hack into them is like trying to wrap your head around the logic of Doctor Who's time travel." The guy who introduced himself as Cisco explained.

"Is it okay if I help?" Aiden asked.

"Well sure," she paused, "You're good with computers?" The woman who introduced herself as Caitlin asked.

"Well that depends," he looked at Detective Joe West, "are you an off duty cop?"

Detective West chuckled, "Son, if I was an on duty cop, would any of you still be here?"

Aiden smiled, "Fair enough, did you guys find my bag when you grabbed me?"

"Yeah," Barry said, "It's kinda ruined from the storm and a little scorched, but most of the contents are safe."

"Good, because I have something in there that's going to help us." He walked over to the bag and starting sifting through the contents. Surprisingly, they were all intact, who knew that a 10-dollar bag from a grocery store could handle a massive storm?

He opened the pocket and the left side and found what he was looking for, a flash drive, his personal one. He walked over to the computer there and was about to plug it in when he saw everyone's faces. They all looked guarded, nervous, and scared.

Aiden sighed, "Look, if I was going to do something bad, would I have stuck around for an explanation after I saw Mr. Allen in the Flash suit?"

Barry ran his hand through his hair, "It's just Barry, but we just went through a rough time, and we're a little shaken up by it."

Aiden raised his eyebrows, "Someone stabbed you in the back?"

They all looked surprised at his reading of the situation.

"What makes you say that?" Barry asked.

"Well, the second I walked in here, Detective West looked like he was going to shoot me, and you," he gestured towards Barry, "have had your arms crossed, and looked ready to attack this entire time."

The tension in the room seemed to dissipate a little.

"It's fine," Cisco said, "just do your thing."

Aiden plugged in the flash drive as began to explain what exactly was on it.

"After my dad died, my mom had to start working double shifts, so I was alone for most of the time. I needed something to occupy my time, so I learned to code. Fast forward half a year, I seemed to have a knack for computer programming. I started to write other types of code, malware, system exploits," he sighed, "I sold some of them to make some money so my mom would drop the double shifts and spend more time at home." He paused, the memories a little difficult to relive, "It didn't work, she was still working twice as hard, she wouldn't take the money and told me to stop before something bad happened. At one point I thought she was seeing someone but was too afraid to tell me. I needed someone to talk to, and since my friends Liam and Christina lived far away, I decided to make one."

As he said this a voice spoke up from the computer, "Good afternoon Aiden."

Team Flash leaned in close to see what was there, it was a holographic face, much like Gideon, but with actual facial features; auburn curls and piercing blue eyes.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the Artificial Regulation and Technologically Enhanced Mapping and Investigation Systems, or- "

"ARTEMIS for short." Iris finished.

Aiden smiled, "I created my own AI to be there when my mom couldn't be, Artemis helped me with my homework, and helped learn everything I needed to." He quickly realized what this sounded like, "I hope this isn't too creepy," he said sheepishly.

"Are you kidding!" Cisco exclaimed, "This is totally awesome, you built your own full functioning AI companion!"

This Cisco guy seemed to be a total fanboy and nerd, so Aiden started to relax a little more.

"So how is this going to help us break into Mercury Labs' systems?" Detective West asked.

Aiden turned to the computer, "Artemis can scan the systems and figure what security systems they are using, they're bound to be exploits for it, and if not I can write one."

"How long is it going to take?" Harry asked, clearly irritated.

"If you quit being so negative, jeez, would it kill you to be more positive?" Aiden shot back.

"Yes it would." Cisco stated.

Aiden turned his attention back to the computer screen, and began to check on the scan's progress. It was almost complete, and then he would make sure to break in.

"They seem to have a very standard security system; I already have an exploit written."

His hands moved quickly across the keyboard, writing the backup so that if the break-in attempt failed, it would scan the security counter-measures and write a counter-measure for that.

"Yeah, so run that and you should be able to look at pretty much anything in their systems."

"Thanks, that really helps," Jesse said, smiling at him.

Heat rose to Aiden's cheeks, and his heart started to race, he would be an idiot if he didn't think Jesse was gorgeous, and a gorgeous woman giving him compliments, it was unheard of.

"Thanks!" Aiden replied with a bright smile.

He observed her for an extra second, he was surprised to see a light blush tint her cheeks.

"Now, onto more pressing matters," Caitlin said, "Would we be able to run some tests, just to make sure everything's okay?"

"Sure."

The tests took a while, and the current one had Aiden running on some sort of treadmill, while everyone else was behind a wall discussing things about his condition. Oh, and to make matters worse, he had to take his shirt off so the electrodes could be put on his chest.

"This is very strange," Caitlin remarked.

She turned to her colleagues, "He's exhibiting the same qualities as Barry when he came out of his coma, accelerated muscle development, increased stamina, but so far no trace of speed in his system."

"I'm sensing a 'but' coming," Joe said.

"But the meta-human gene is already in his system, with traces of the Speed Force already there," she paused, "It's almost as if the Speed Force was already in his system but needed a spark to give him the physical speed and to become more apparent in his physical form."

"And a lightning bolt wasn't enough of a spark to get the speed powers?" Jesse asked.

"Apparently not, it may be more of a psychological issue."

"If it is, do we really want him to find his powers?" Barry asked.

"Why do you say that?" Iris asked.

"It makes him more of a target for Zoom, and it might scare him. Do you think the speed will manifest on its own?"

"It's too early to tell." Caitlin said.

"You gotta admit, the muscles developed _very_ nicely." Jesse remarked.

Harry wheeled on her, "Excuse me?"

Jesse shrunk back in her chair, "Nothing."

"Okay Aiden you can stop now," Caitlin said through the microphone.

He started to slow down and stopped, he put his hands on his knees was breathing heavily. He had never been able to run for that long without stopping, so what was going on? Aiden walked inside the observation room, and looked at the looks at the team's faces, why was everyone so apprehensive around him?

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, just needed to make sure everything was okay, just an FYI, you might want to put a shirt on, Jesse might swoon." Cisco remarked.

It was at that exact moment he noticed that he didn't actually have a shirt on, his face started to heat up. Betraying his thoughts, his eyes gently moved to Jesse, she looked a little in shock. Their eyes met and she turned the other way. What in the hell was going on? Aiden moved the chair nearest to him and grabbed his shirt to put on.

"If that's all, I'd like to see my mom now."

The mood shifted fast, pun not intended, everyone's facial expressions got hard to read. In a moment that shocked Aiden, Jesse walked up to him, and pulled him into a hug. His arms wrapped around her and he would've taken more time to observe his incredibly fast heart rate and light blush had she not said the next sentence.

She nuzzled her head into his neck and said, "I'm so sorry Aiden."

He was confused, "About what?"

She pulled back and looked directly into his eyes.

"Your mom passed while you were in your coma."

Oh yeah, not prepared _at all._

 **A/N: So that was...emotional. Sorry if this chapter is a little shorter than usual, I actually had planned for a longer chapter but after reviewing the story, I decided to move it into the next one. So how about Jesse and Aiden? What do you think is going there? And what happened to Aiden's mom?**

 **Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own anything you recognize.**

 **Side Note: Did you guys see the new Legends sizzle trailer, SO AWESOME.**

 **Please R &R, it helps me gauge your interest in my story and motivates me to write more.**

 **'Till next time!**


	4. A New Home

No. _No._ She had to be lying, there was no way she could be telling the truth, Aiden's mom couldn't be gone. She was fine, perfectly fine, just waiting for him to come home and welcome him back. He would walk into his house, she would be cooking for one, and then she would see Aiden. She would start to cry and engulf him into a motherly hug, then proceed to make him all his favorite foods. There was no way in hell Tracey Riley could be gone, it just didn't make sense to Aiden. _If_ that was true, then that would mean Aiden was an orphan, no home, no family, no _nothing_.

He pried Jesse out of his arms and looked her dead in the face, "You're lying, right? This is just a sick joke. She can't be _gone_." Aiden searched her eyes for any indication of a lie, anything resembling a sick satisfaction of pulling his leg, he found none. Then reality came crashing down around him, she was telling the truth.

Aiden Riley was an orphan.

He sat down on an empty chair and put his head in his hands. She was gone, dead, she was moving on to the next great adventure. Then a barrage of questions entered his head. Where would he go? Where would he live? What kind of place would his parents send him to in their will?

"The ceremony already happened," Barry said, placing his hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "She passed a few weeks ago, your friend, Liam, and his family held the ceremony."

This was some comfort, he wasn't going to have to plan a whole funeral for his mom, when his father had died she had shielded him from any of the planning, instead spending her time alone. But then, Tracey Riley had been in perfect health when he had last seen her, granted that was three months ago but still, how much had her health deteriorated? Had losing Aiden to the coma killed her? Had this accident pushed her to the brink of death because she couldn't bear the thought of losing another person? He needed to see her, no matter what.

"I need a lift to the cemetery." Aiden stated, his voice hollow and empty. He eyed the people around him, some were looking apprehensive, the others were looking at him with pity. For some unexplainable reason, this angered him, he didn't want their pity, their support, all he needed was some time alone, to think.

"Sure kid, we'll go in my car." Detective West said, gathering his coat and keys. Aiden got up and followed him out of the cortex. Neither of them noticed the way that Dr. Snow was breaking down into tears herself, being comforted by Barry.

The drive was too quiet; the endless silence gave Aiden nothing but more time to think about the fact that his last parent was gone and would never come back. She would never be there for him anymore, never be there to welcome him home from a particularly bad day at school. In fact, she would never see Aiden attend university or get his first job in the real world. This angered him further, he was angry at her for abandoning him, leaving on his own when she knew Aiden needed her. Then he immediately felt guilty about being angry at his mother, it wasn't her fault that sickness took her, although, no one at Star Labs had told him what the cause of death was, but that was slippery slope.

With these emotions swirling around in his head, the car came to a stop outside the cemetery, for some reason, the archway seemed extra gloomy today, highlighted by the people who were processing out of it, clearly coming from their own funeral.

"You don't have to wait for me." Aiden said, still not meeting the detective's eyes. He didn't want to see the pitying look in his eyes. Aiden left the car without hearing his response, likely a protest. He slammed the door a little harder than he meant on the way out. He heard a small smash, and for some sick reason, Aiden hoped his window had broken.

Aiden assumed that they would have buried his mother next to his father, so he made the familiar walk towards his father's grave. Three rows in, seven off the right of the middle headstone. After the first row, he began to think about what arrangements would have to be made for him now, undoubtedly the people at Star Labs would have contacted his parents' attorney, letting him know Aiden was awake. He would to either be put in the care of his next of kin, which if his memory served him right, was an uncle who lived in Canada. This, he felt, was too far away from his whole life, if they could manage it he wanted to stay in Central City, close to his friends. The other option, if his uncle wouldn't have him, would be in an orphanage. This situation would place him in Central City, but with people he didn't know. After he passed the third row and turned right he began to hear people conversing close to his parent's graves.

"I still can't believe this happened, especially with Aiden in a come." The first voice said, it was female, and her voice was shaking with tears.

"He needs to wake up, I can't bury another Riley." The second voice said, a male one, the voice sounded as hollow and empty as he felt. It was then he realized who these voices belonged to, his two best friends. Liam and Christina.

Approaching them, if felt as though some of the weight from his chest had lifted, his friends were okay, they were just waiting for him to wake up. He was filled with some form of happiness and he knew that at least some of his problems were gone. He walked closer, and he could see Liam move his head slightly towards the noise of his approaching footsteps. Liam turned slowly and then looked straight into Aiden's eyes, he looked shocked, happy, and an indistinguishable feeling seemed to be lurking behind his eyes.

"Impossible…" breathed Liam, still looking at Aiden with wide eyes. At this, Christina turned around and looked at Aiden. Her eyes went wide too, and immediately her eyes filled to the brim with tears. She burst forward and immediately Aiden found himself in one of the most bone-crushing hugs he could remember receiving from her.

"You're okay," she cried, sobs racking her body so intensely she was shaking, "We thought that we might lose you, that you might never come back." Aiden wrapped his arms around her as she clutched his jacket tighter, dampening the front even more from her tears. He placed a hand on her back and began to draw soothing circles into it.

"I'm not going anywhere; you can't get rid of me that easily." It was at this moment that Liam began to walk slowly towards Aiden, a look of disbelief still on his face. Also at that moment, Christina seemed to realize that she was still hanging to Aiden as if her life depended on it. She broke away from him, untangling herself from his arms, much to Aiden's disappointment. Then, she began to walk towards Liam and threw her arms around him, although something much different happened.

Christina placed a hand on the back of Liam's neck, and they met halfway for a kiss, all the while whispering "He's okay, he's home," to him. _No way_.

Aiden sincerely hoped that he was dreaming, a piece of him wished to be back in the Speed Force, at least there he was with his father. This was impossible, there was no way that this could be true. His best friend with the girl of his dreams, there was no scenario where this was impossible.

 _But then_ said a treacherous part of his mind _you were always worried about this very situation._ Aiden couldn't lie to himself about this, he had been worried about this for some time now. The three of them were growing up, and so was everything about them. In fact, the more Aiden thought about it, the more this seemed to make sense, it was only a matter of time before Christina noticed just what kind of man Liam was becoming. And with Aiden out of the way in his coma, Liam must have known that this his perfect chance to steal-

No, he shouldn't go down that road, Christina was never his, and she certainly could make her own choices. She was not a prize to be won, but still, that did not help to soften the blow. Liam was the only one he had been comfortable to share his crush with, the only person he thought he could confide in. Where had that gotten him? No parents, no home, and certainly not the girl. This wasn't a movie, just because he almost died didn't mean Christina would see him in a new light. Just a friend as always. Aiden realized he should at least try to be happy for them.

Liam wouldn't meet his eyes, trying to look everywhere but at Aiden. Christina linked their hands together and looked towards him, her cheeks flushed, with embarrassment or happiness, he could not tell. The look in her eye seemed to be waiting for recognition of what had just happened from Aiden.

"Wow, congratulations guys." Aiden said, even partially startling himself. Liam tried to find his eyes, Aiden wouldn't meet them, this hurt way too much, his already fragile emotions were cracking further. First his mom, and now this, any more loss might kill him.

"Thanks Aiden, we were worried that it might be awkward." Christina said, still smiling. Aiden's brain seemed to stop, did Liam tell her? Did the one secret he kept from her finally came out. "Why is that?" Aiden asked hesitantly. Christina looked between Liam and Aiden, and then said, "We didn't want you to feel left out." Aiden's heart began to start again. At least Liam still valued their friendship. "Don't worry guys I won't." he lied, this was going to be a scar he picked at for a while.

"Do you think that I could get some time alone?" Aiden asked, needing the silence of the cemetery to think, to try and sort out what was going to happen next. Liam passed him, and took hold of his arm, "Can we talk later?" he asked. Aiden looked into his green eyes, "Yeah sure _pal_." Liam flinched and continued to walk past him. Aiden may have said that with a little too much venom.

Aiden finally turned towards the now two headstones. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words got caught in his throat, promptly being replaced by sobs. Finally, alone, Aiden could release all the grief he had been bottling up since receiving the news. He felt his body shaking and lungs burning but kept crying. A piece of advice from his mom came to the forefront of his mind during his father's funeral. She had said that it was okay to cry, the more you cried, the you cared about the person who was gone. It seemed that Aiden couldn't stop crying. He needed to get out of there, and _fast_.

Aiden began to move towards the exit. All the emotions were bearing down on him like a freight train, he couldn't breathe properly. Was he having a panic attack? He just kept walking towards the exit and closed his eyes. They were gone. He was an orphan. Aiden heard the jumbled sounds of the world around him pass by. He was all alone. Aiden heard car honks and some swerve. Where would he live? Aiden then heard a crack of lightning. This caused him to open his eyes and look around.

What just happened? Aiden took a second to take in his surroundings. He turned around and looked back, he could see the faint outline of the cemetery. He didn't know where he was. He looked at the street corner where the intersection was. _Adams and King_. If Aiden knew Central City right, that was at least 8 blocks away from the cemetery, so the million dollar question.

How did he get there?

He took his phone out of his pocket and began to scroll through the contacts. Aiden's thumb hovered over the profile entitled _Liam Smith._ He then thought better of this idea. After their confrontation, it probably wasn't the best idea to ask for help. He kept scrolling through his contact list and saw the name _Caitlin Snow._ The first thought was, how the hell did they get into my phone? His second thought was, if anyone could help him, Dr. Snow was probably the person to do it. 3 rings later, and a soft voice answered the phone.

"Hello? Aiden?" Doctor Snow asked, the worry evident in her voice. "Yeah, it's me, I know I was a bit of a dick to Detective West, but could I get a pickup?" He heard some shuffling on the other end of the line. "Okay, he's on his way."

It didn't take long. Before Aiden knew it, Detective West's silver car pulled up in front of him. Aiden opened the passenger side door and sat down in the comfy leather seat. "I'm sorry about this morning Detective West, I guess I was just upset." Aiden turned his head to look at the detective, he had an understanding look in his eyes. "Don't worry about it, I've seen a lot of kids like you in this position, I get that it makes you angry. But kid, you gotta stop with this whole 'Detective' thing, it's just Joe to you."

Aiden smiled, he barely knew this man, but already he was treating him like an extended family member. "Listen, Aiden, we got into contact with your legal guardians, the ones your parents left you in the care of. They showed up at STAR Labs." Aiden felt like he had been drenched in cold water. His new family was here to take him away. He would move away to some other city with no Christina, no Liam, no _nothing_.

"Your parents placed you in the care of Master Sergeant John Diggle and his wife Lyla." The name John Diggle tugged at his memories, he was the man who told him and his mother about his father's death. "They live in Star City, and you don't have to worry. They're trying to figure out a way to keep you here in Central City."

Aiden hadn't smiled so brightly since the news about his mom.

The rest of the drive was spent in as much happiness as he could under the circumstances. The Diggles were trying to keep him in Central City, they knew how important the city was to him. The only home he had ever known, the city housed his friends and the closest things he had left to family. He tried not to think of his recently strained relationship with Liam. One problem at a time. The situation had one major flaw in it though, if the Diggles were trying to keep him in Central City, where exactly would he live?

Walking into STAR Labs made him feel a bit nervous. He was meeting his new family for the foreseeable future. Would Mr. Diggle even remember him? Would his wife like him? Traversing the route to the Cortex felt like something had crawled into Aiden's stomach. _Hello_ said the thing in his stomach _I'm your insecurities and I'm going nowhere anytime soon_.

When he walked into the Cortex he found Dr. Snow and the Diggles talking animatedly about something. Then, Cisco showed up from one of the rooms off to the side. He walked up to him, "You okay?" Cisco asked. Aiden nodded, "I'm about as good as I can be." At this, the Diggles turned around and saw Aiden. Something felt lodged in Aiden's throat as they walked over to him. John walked over and engulfed him into a massive hug.

"Hey Aiden," John said, he looked a little teary himself, "We heard about your mother and came as soon as we could." Aiden turned and looked at Lyla. He extended his hand to greet her, but she instead took him into her arms. "My condolences Aiden, I knew both your parents well." This stopped Aiden's reply. "They never mentioned you." John and Lyla both shared a knowing smile. "Come on Aiden, sit down and I'll tell you everything."

The rest of the team had given them some privacy as they continued their discussion. "Like Johnny, I served with your father. But unlike Johnny, I had the resources and the connections to make sure that your father was able to contact you and your mom every time he felt homesick, which was a lot."Aiden nodded, "I remember those calls, they seemed so frequent that I was a little skeptical that he even left for Afghanistan." They all laughed as much as they could.

Lyla continued, "Well, long story short, I ended up talking to your mom quite frequently, and we became close friends. So close in fact that they edited their wills, so that in the case of their passing, we were your legal guardians." Aiden understood why, every time his father left, his mother was left a little more sensitive to the world around her. Meeting Lyla, a soldier herself, and the significant other of another soldier meant that their connection would've been instant.

"There's only one thing I don't understand, if you were so close to my parents, how come they never mentioned you like they mentioned Mr. Digg-John?" On numerous occasions where John had visited the house, he had tried to coax Aiden out of his formal shell and this seemed like a good time to start.

"They couldn't mention me because once I got back stateside, I was recruited by an organization called A.R.G.U.S, one of those organizations that technically doesn't exist." Aiden's eyes went wide. "You're serious, A.R.G.U.S is real? I heard rumors among some conspiracy forums about an organization that is only real to a select few. Even the president doesn't know you exist." Lyla gave a small smile, "That's probably for the best. A.R.G.U.S deals with some of the more _enhanced_ people out there." Aiden nodded, "So superheroes?" Lyla nodded. "Does that mean you know about.." Aiden trailed, wondering if he had said too much.

Lyla and John laughed. "Yes, A.R.G.U.S is aware of Mr. Allen's adventures. It's also hard to not know, being the director of A.R.G.U.S myself and being married to Johnny." Aiden's eyes narrowed, John smiled, "I work with the Green Arrow in Star City." Aiden was speechless.

Now came the difficult part of the conversation. "So what's the plan?" Aiden asked, feeling very scared. "Well, we've been thinking it over, and we do want you to stay here in Central City. You grew up here, it's your home, and you're going to graduate here as well," Lyla responded. "But didn't graduation already happen?"John shook his head, "The school was damaged in the storm, so they had to postpone the ceremony, it's in 5 days. It's pretty convenient for your predicament."

"So, where am I staying?" Aiden asked. John and Lyla shared an uncertain glance, "Caitlin offered to let you stay at her apartment in the spare room."

"Really?" Aiden asked, he had after all just met Caitlin, and now she was offering him her home to stay in. "We just met."

"She seemed really adamant about it," Lyla explained, "She told us that she understood somewhat of what you're going through. You shouldn't worry though, she's nice and she'll do everything in her power to make you comfortable."

"Okay."

Aiden and the Diggles were soon joined by Caitlin who walked in. Aiden looked at her and smiled. "Thank you for everything you're doing for me."

Caitlin gave him a soft smile back, "Don't worry about it, I wanted to help. Watching over you for 3 months means I have a soft spot for you." Aiden smiled. "You ready to go?" she asked.

"Yeah, let's go home."

* * *

 **A/N: So yeah, that's chapter 4. I know this has been a long time coming and I know that I haven't updated in awhile. I have only myself to blame for not making time. I'm going to try and make more time to write in the coming weeks.**

 **Anyways, a lot happening this chapter, we got our first introduction to the larger Flarrowverse in John and Lyla, the first instances of the 'impossible' happening to Aiden, and a really convenient plot device to keep him in Central City, being Caitlin's new roomie/foster son. We'll see how that dynamic works out.**

 **Also a little side thing, I'm looking for some artwork for the cover. PM me if you're good at that kind of stuff.**

 **Disclaimer: Of course I don't own any DC related stuff, if I did I would make Snowbarry canon.**

 **'Till next time!**


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